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Summary

OpenResearch Unconditional Income Pilot offered a $1,000 per month unconditional cash transfer for three years to participants between the ages of 21-40 years who had a household income less than or equal to 300 percent of the federal poverty level.

OpenResearch Unconditional Income Pilot offered a $1,000 per month unconditional cash transfer for three years to participants between the ages of 21-40 years who had a household income less than or equal to 300 percent of the federal poverty level. Transfers were considered gifts from non-profit organizations and not considered taxable income. Legislation was passed in participating study sites to protect against means-tested benefit loss.

Individuals in households where at least one person was receiving Supplemental Security Income or Social Security Disability Insurance or was residing in publicly-subsidized housing were excluded from participation. The program was evaluated in ten counties in northeastern Texas, including those in the Dallas/Fort Worth metro area, and nine counties in northern Illinois, including those in the Chicago metro area.

101082-Study of OpenResearc
Populations and employment barriers:

Effectiveness rating and effect by outcome domain

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Outcome domain Term Effectiveness rating Effect in 2024 dollars and percentages Effect in standard deviations Sample size
Increase earnings Short-term Little evidence to assess support unfavorable $-5,358 per year -0.147 1950
Long-term Little evidence to assess support unfavorable $-6,780 per year -0.186 1950
Very long-term No evidence to assess support
Increase employment Short-term Little evidence to assess support unfavorable -3% (in percentage points) -0.075 2904
Long-term Not supported unfavorable -6% (in percentage points) -0.143 2876
Very long-term No evidence to assess support
Decrease benefit receipt Short-term Little evidence to assess support $0 per year 0.000 0
Long-term Little evidence to assess support $0 per year 0.000 0
Very long-term No evidence to assess support
Increase education and training All measurement periods No evidence to assess support
* This intervention was assessed as supported for this domain, meaning it achieved one or more statistically significant, favorable effects. However, the intervention has an average effect size that is unfavorable because the average includes all effects in this domain - both statistically significant and favorable effects and statistically insignificant but unfavorable effects.

Effectiveness rating key:

  • Well-supported Well-supported   
  • Supported  Supported   
  • Not supported  Not supported   
  • Mixed support  Mixed support   
  • Insufficient evidence  Insufficient evidence   
  • No evidence  No evidence
Effectiveness rating terms?

Studies of this intervention

Study quality rating Study counts per rating
High High 1
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Implementation details

Organizations implementing intervention

A local non-profit organization in each study site implemented the program.

The information contained here reflects how the intervention was implemented at the time of the evaluation.

Local context

The providers and study site were located in northern Illinois, including Chicago and Rockford, IL, and northeastern Texas, including Dallas, Fort Worth, and Waco, TX.

Characteristics of research participants
Black or African American
30%
White, not Hispanic
47%
Unknown or not reported
1%
Hispanic or Latino of any race
22%

The race and ethnicity categories may sum to more than 100 percent if the authors reported race and ethnicity separately; in these cases, we report the category White, rather than White, not Hispanic.

State(s) where implemented

AL AK AZ AR CA CO CT DE DC FL GA HI ID IL IN IA KS KY LA ME MD MA MI MN MS MO MT NE NV NH NJ NM NY NC ND OH OK OR PA RI SC SD TN TX UT VT VA WA WV WI WY Canada

The Pathways Clearinghouse refers to interventions by the names used in study reports or manuscripts. Some intervention names may use language that is not consistent with our style guide, preferences, or the terminology we use to describe populations.